


No promises

by Chaotic_Neuteral



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Blood and Injury, But it gets a little iffy, But it means I don't cut anything so if whump is your deal... go for it, Depression, Fear, I literally don't edit it, Implied/Referenced Rape/Non-con, Implied/Referenced Self-Harm, Nobody Dies, Not Really Character Death, POV Shiro (Voltron), Self-Harm, Sorry Not Sorry, Space Dad Shiro (Voltron), Starvation, Violence, Whump, no beta we die like men
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-02
Updated: 2020-10-02
Packaged: 2021-03-07 19:14:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,007
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26782747
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Chaotic_Neuteral/pseuds/Chaotic_Neuteral
Summary: After their capture, Shiro spends his days wondering where his teammates are being held. Where they are, how they're faring, if they're being treated as civilly as he is...All of his fears come true. His friends are unstable and almost unrecognizable, half-delirious. And his new job is to take care of them. But there seems to be no chance of escape, and Shiro finds himself looking after the people he once held dear, who seem to have been replaced with something other and broken and in pain.
Relationships: Allura & Coran & Hunk & Keith & Lance & Pidge | Katie Holt & Shiro, Shiro & Everyone, Shiro & Voltron: Legendary Defender Team
Comments: 1
Kudos: 3





	No promises

**Author's Note:**

> TW's for this chapter: None

Shiro paced. And paced. And paced some more. He couldn't train, he couldn't talk to anyone, and he could barely hear his own thoughts over that damned buzz that replaced all other sound. The lights in this place were just how he remembered them. Purple, so purple they hurt your eyes, and draining. The first time he'd been inside, it had been miserable. He could barely stand the first few weeks, but when he got sent into the Arena he gained strength. This time was much easier. He was stronger now, but losing muscle mass fast.

His teammates. Shiro spent every waking hour worrying. If they were all in solitary, then each member of the group posed a threat to themself without the others to balance. Hunk would cry, a lot. He was soft and felt things strongly, but he would overall be fine. Shiro was worried about Lance and Keith so much it hurt. Lance was headstrong and didn't know when enough was enough. He'd fight back until the day he died. Shiro could only hope that day was years away. Keith... Keith would relapse. Shiro had seen what mental illness had done to him, witnessed it first hand. The days Keith could barely get out of bed, the days when he didn't say a word, the days when he would shove something under his blankets whenever Shiro walked into his room, a glint of metal catching the light. He'd been... better, Shiro supposed, when he had something to work for. Keith threw himself into things, and Voltron was no different. He might not make it, but Shiro was still holding out hope. But Pidge... Shiro tried not to think about Pidge.

She was all of their problems and then some. She never gave up, kept running forward even when the ground was gone and there was no light at the end of the tunnel. Shiro never failed to notice the days when she seemed slowed, words slurring in her mouth, or the days when she seemed to be moving far faster than any of them, when her fingers sped along keyboards and her words caught on each other and she could barely get a full sentence out before giving up. But mostly he noticed her main weakness, the one that kept him up at night.

Pidge wasn't strong. She trained like the rest of them, but she had never thrown herself into it like the others had. Lance trained to distract himself from the bad thoughts, to be better than even he thought he could be. Keith trained because his body would freeze up if he wasn't moving. Shiro trained because he had to stay in shape, stay strong, stay good. Hunk trained because he wanted to be fit and fast, and sometimes Shiro would find him in the gym at odd hours, listening to music and humming along as he ran. But Pidge had never been interested in physical strength. She was quick as a whip and smart, too, throwing out strategies before Shiro was even finished explaining the circumstances around a mission. She could dodge like nobody's business and dart between opponents. But she was not strong. All of her energy had gone to computers, she spent her days sitting in the bay with her lion, coming up with more and more codes and plans and documents nobody was allowed to read. Pidge could pick a fight and be snapped in half easily.

Shiro shuddered just at the thought, right when his door slid open. A hulking guard stood outside. Shiro didn't know if all the guards were brutes nowadays, but they were the only ones assigned to him. He could only suppose they were taking extra pains to- the guard tossed someone in. The tiny form fell with a little shriek. And the door slammed closed.

He froze. Who was it? Blood matted their hair down, they hid their face with the huge rag of a shirt they wore. Thin, pale legs jutted out, all bones. Shiro's breath caught when he noticed the bruises. All over their arms and legs, purple and green and brown. They looked painful. He swore angrily, wondering what kind of a sick person could do this. He stepped closer, meaning to help them sit up, but they just tightened into a little ball on the floor.

Shiro sat down on the spot, realizing his tall, broad shadow was terrifying them. "Who are you?" He asked quietly. "Who would do this to a kid?" Because this person couldn't be more than ten, maybe eleven. Tall for their age, but you couldn't get that thin if you were any older.

A choked, terrified voice floated from the pile of bones and skin. "Sh-shiro?"

And suddenly Shiro recognized it. He paused for a moment, wondering how in the world she had gotten so fucking thin, where she got the bruises, where she had been all this time, what happened... before scooping her up and holding her like a baby. "Pidge," He said carefully. "What happened?"

Glistening brown eyes stared up at him, watery and huge. Her eyes had never been big, but they looked gigantic on her face, which Shiro now saw was gaunt and bony, lacking all muscle. She started to cry then, weakly grabbing fistfuls of his shirt and sobbing into the material, words Shiro couldn't quite make out. He shushed her, stroking her hair calmly when he felt far more like jumping up and tearing apart the ship with his bare hands.

"Pidge, shh, it's okay, I promise, I won't let them take you again." Shiro held her tighter, rocking softly. He gritted his teeth, trying to regain his composure. As it turned out, it had been thrown out the window and all he could do was deal with the loss for now. Shiro took a deep breath, picking up Pidge and placing her on the bed. Fucking hell, she was light as a feather. It looked like he wouldn't be getting to eat any time soon.


End file.
